[HawaiianOnline]

I am taking the liberty of starting a single thread where people can post questions specifically for the K20D NDA holders (ie people that have actually handled and used the camera). It seems like many questions are being asked but aren't necessarily being answered because of all the tread activity going on. If this works out, then I respectfully ask for a mod to sticky this as sort of a FAQ thread on the K20D.

I will start this off by asking the following questions:

1) Has any NDA holders tried using a teleconverter and did the exif properly note the focal length.

2) In regards to the AF speed, Benjikan noted that it seemed faster to him. Has any NDA holder tried comparing the AF speed of the K10D and the K20D with the same lens and similar AF conditions? I am asking because the SAFOX VIII equipped istDxx cameras are noticeably slower than the SAFOX VIII equipped K10D.

3) How is the pattern noise in dark areas of the images?

I realize that some questions asked may not be answered until the comprehensive reviews come out. Hell, some people may not get any answers for their questions until they actually have one in hand to try.

[HawaiianOnline]

I want to add another question. Does the lens AF adjustment database function with third part lenses? Many of us use the excellent third party lenses like the Sigma 70-200 and the Tamron 90mm macro. It would be a damn shame if this did not work with those lenses.

[codiac2600]

I am taking the liberty of starting a single thread where people can post questions specifically for the K20D NDA holders (ie people that have actually handled and used the camera). It seems like many questions are being asked but aren't necessarily being answered because of all the tread activity going on. If this works out, then I respectfully ask for a mod to sticky this as sort of a FAQ thread on the K20D.

I will start this off by asking the following questions:

1) Has any NDA holders tried using a teleconverter and did the exif properly note the focal length.

2) In regards to the AF speed, Benjikan noted that it seemed faster to him. Has any NDA holder tried comparing the AF speed of the K10D and the K20D with the same lens and similar AF conditions? I am asking because the SAFOX VIII equipped istDxx cameras are noticeably slower than the SAFOX VIII equipped K10D.

3) How is the pattern noise in dark areas of the images?

I realize that some questions asked may not be answered until the comprehensive reviews come out. Hell, some people may not get any answers for their questions until they actually have one in hand to try.

1) I haven't but Mark Dimalanta should be able to answer that question. chasing light...

2) I did and it's too hard to tell, but with the "Catch-in Focus" mode enabled it locked focus without rechecking making it a bit faster.

3) Can't truly answer that because the firmware was .20 on my model, Ben had .39, so we shouldn't make any deep noise related judgments just yet.

[codiac2600]

I want to add another question. Does the lens AF adjustment database function with third part lenses? Many of us use the excellent third party lenses like the Sigma 70-200 and the Tamron 90mm macro. It would be a damn shame if this did not work with those lenses.

It's made specifically for Petnax Lenses, but what you can do is use the overall focus adjustment for you're off branded lens then do each Pentax lens separately.

[MSM]

Nice idea HO. My question would be to Chris or others whether you had a chance to try or handle any of the new DA lenses. I am curious whether there was any talk of the so called DA 17-70mm. It seems that it would be a nice addition for many especially f2.8 or 4.

I know that the 55-300 is not out yet but I would be interested to hear any speculation or thoughts as to how it would compare IQ wise to the 50-200 that I am considering.

thanks,

mark

[benjikan]

I am taking the liberty of starting a single thread where people can post questions specifically for the K20D NDA holders (ie people that have actually handled and used the camera). It seems like many questions are being asked but aren't necessarily being answered because of all the tread activity going on. If this works out, then I respectfully ask for a mod to sticky this as sort of a FAQ thread on the K20D.

I will start this off by asking the following questions:

1) Has any NDA holders tried using a teleconverter and did the exif properly note the focal length.

2) In regards to the AF speed, Benjikan noted that it seemed faster to him. Has any NDA holder tried comparing the AF speed of the K10D and the K20D with the same lens and similar AF conditions? I am asking because the SAFOX VIII equipped istDxx cameras are noticeably slower than the SAFOX VIII equipped K10D.

3) How is the pattern noise in dark areas of the images?

I realize that some questions asked may not be answered until the comprehensive reviews come out. Hell, some people may not get any answers for their questions until they actually have one in hand to try.

Look, I wasn't counting OK? But when I pressed the shutter on both the K10D and the K20D at the same time, the K20D seemed faster. I cannot count milliseconds. But if I were to give it a guess I MIGHT say this. For every 3 fps on the K10D, I might get 3.3 to 3.6 fps on the K20D.

That is just my impression. Perhaps it has more to do with the fact that the K20D is quieter.

Ben

[Ishpuini]

1) Has any NDA holders tried using a teleconverter and did the exif properly note the focal length.

Not under NDA, but the first question doesn't require this to give you an answer.

The problem has never been with the body, the problem is with the teleconverters themselves. They just pass all the contacts from the lens to the body without changing any of the signals. As such the teleconverter is invisible for the body, so there's no way any body can take it into account automatically.

Possible solutions would be:
- focal length multiplier to be activated on the body manually, such as an option in the custom settings. Requires a firmware update probably...
- New teleconverters that can actually read the focal length info the lens passes to them and then multiply this by the multiplier themselves before passing the info onto the body.

The latter would be more practical but more expensive. The former seems easier to implement soon, but perhaps the SR programming doesn't allow for this flexibility? Anyway, manual custom settings include the risk of forgetting to shut off the multiplication when the teleconverter is dismounted...

Wim